Oh No – I hear you cry help! Well you shouldn’t. Psychometric
testing is becoming more and more popular now to vet
potential candidates and you can use these in your favour.
If you’ve never taken one before it can be a little bit
worrying, it’s a bit like going back to school and sitting
an exam doing those multiple choice questions with puzzles!
These need not be a worry and are not once you understand
what they’re for, how they work and what they are set out to
achieve. In my experience it is really no wonder why
companies have taken to using these tests to gauge
applicants as nowadays there are some many well qualified
applicants for each job that if you were to interview them
all you would be there until doomsday. These tests are a
good way to assess which candidates are most likely to be
the best for the job. If you are the right person for the
position then it will just give reassurance to the
interviewer and you will be in a good position. On the basis
that you have never sat a psychometric test or heard of one
for that matter I will give you some brief information about
them.
A
psychometric test isn’t really a test and that is because you
cannot really fail one. It is called a test because - well in
all honesty how else can you categorise something where you are
asked to carry out a task which you will then be assessed on.
What these do is ascertain how you think and whether you think
in the same format as the company you are applying to but these
tests don’t tend to be used on their own in the interview and
selection process. Basically psychometric tests – are split into
four areas and can include one or all of the following; An
Ability Test, A Personality Test, An Aptitude Test and
Motivational Test. Each test speaks for itself really, the
ability test is looking to assess your overall general ability,
the personality test is assessing what type of personality you
have, the aptitude test is carried out to test the skills you
have that are specific to areas of the job that you are applying
for and the motivational test which is set to find out what
motivates you. Don’t panic if you are on your way to an
interview and you suddenly get a thought go through your head
like “oh no I wonder if I will be asked to sit a psychometric
test at this interview”. It is very unlikely if you haven’t been
informed that a psychometric test will form part of the
interview that it will be sprung on you – after all that would
be a bit of a dirty trick to play on an unsuspecting candidate.
These tests are often carried out on the same day as the
interview but generally speaking you will be given advance
warning if this is going to form part of the day.
Should you be asked to sit a test as part of the interview then
the chances are your interviewer of the HR manager will brief
you beforehand as to what the test is about, what you need to do
to complete the test and which type of test you will be asked to
complete. If they do not brief you (which is fairly unlikely)
then you might want to ask them a few questions about the test –
things like how will the test be taken, what type of test will
you be taking and what will the information be used for etc,
etc. There is plenty of information readily available about
psychometric tests on the internet so if you want examples or
more information on this subject just go to Google and search
for “psychometric tests”. If you know you are going to be taking
a test then make sure you have everything you need before
attending (it’s just like going into an exam without a pen or
your glasses) make sure you are prepared you don’t want to add
to your worries by leaving something important at home that’s
going to hinder you. You should use the same type of formula
when taking the test as you would if you were taking an exam –
for those of you have been left school or University for a while
and forgotten then here are a couple of pointers:
1.
Sit down, keep your cool and follow all of the instructions
given on the paper. Read them thoroughly and take them in. If
you rush you may misunderstand the way in which the test is
being set and end up answering questions incorrectly.
2.
If
at the start of the test there is an area that you are unsure of
or do not fully comprehend then ask the assessor for help.
3.
As
with any exam you need to answer as many questions as possible
correctly so be careful if the time spent on each question. If
you are not sure of the answer or don’t understand the question
don’t get flustered, leave it and move on, you can always return
to the question again at the end if you have time left over.
4.
Finally, if when you have finished all of the questions there
remain some unanswered ones go back and have another go and by
all counts if you still don’t know the answer just guess – you
might come out lucky!
I will try and give you some insight into what you can expect
from the different types of tests and how to answer them, I am
no expert at the end of the day I can only go off my past
experience and information I have read up on the subject.
Ability/Aptitude Tests:
Ability and aptitude tests are set to assess your specific
skills. You will sit the test and the resultant mark you get
will indicate to your future employer your overall level of
ability. The content of the test may be general questions set to
see how you think, how you deal with specific circumstances and
what type of logic you are using to come up with your answer.
These tests are frequently designed using multiple choice
questions (or what we called multiple guess questions in my day
at school!). Sometimes these tests will be set using far more
questions than can possibly be answered in the allotted time but
it is quality not quantity the examiner will be looking for as
your overall score will be a percentage of the right questions
answered not how many questions have been answered. It is fairly
easy to do some preparation for aptitude tests, most of these
tests are based around logical thinking which is something that
we all do in everyday life. If you really want to try and
increase your logical thinking you could try the doing the daily
crossword in your newspaper, Sudoku which you can get from most
local shops (or even play it on the internet for free) or you
could try buying one of those puzzler magazines from WH Smiths
or Sainsbury’s. What I am getting at here is that you need to
get your mind working in a logical thinking way and by carrying
out exercises that involve mathematical puzzles and problem
solving you will give yourself a good start. Remember the more
practice you get the better you will become at doing these
tests.
Motivation Tests/Personality Tests:
Motivation questionnaires are set to specifically analyse what
“motivates” or “drives” you as a person and how you are likely
to integrate that into your work, how much stamina you have or
how much enthusiasm you dedicate to a project. These tests are
likely to set using a question followed by several possible
answers. Personality tests are very similar to Motivation Tests
and are designed to assess what type of person you are, unlike
Aptitude tests which are created to analyse what type of logic
you use to address problem solving. There are no right or wrong
answers to Personality tests because everyone thinks differently
and these tests are designed more to see if you will fit in with
the companies way of thinking or the type of job you will be
doing. Generally speaking there will be no time limit set at a
personality test so they are not as pressurised as aptitude
tests. It is not possible to analyse what sort of information
the employer is looking for when you take a personality test as
different employers will be looking for different qualities and
they may be aimed at how well you are going to fit into their
team and company. However, the general type of areas your
employer may be looking to quantify are what your attitude is to
your work life and personal life, how well you communicate with
others, what drives you and how you deal with sorting out and
solving problems.
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